Method of interacting with a computer using a proximity sensor in a computer input device

ABSTRACT

In a method of the present invention, a device message is generated indicating that a touch sensor on an input device has been touched without indicating what location on the touch sensor has been touched. The device message is routed to an application and instructions within the application are executed based on the device message.

REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is related to a U.S. patent application filed oneven date herewith entitled “PROXIMITY SENSOR IN A COMPUTER INPUTDEVICE”, having Ser. No. 09/152,434, currently pending. The presentinvention is also related to a U.S. patent application filed on evendate herewith entitled “A TECHNIQUE FOR IMPLEMENTING A TWO-HANDEDDESKTOP USER INTERFACE FOR A COMPUTER”. The present application is alsorelated to a U.S. patent application filed on even date herewithentitled “INPUT DEVICE WITH FORWARD/BACKWARD CONTROL”, having Ser. No.09/153,148, currently pending.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to computerized systems. In particular,the present invention relates to input devices for computerized systems.

Computerized systems receive input signals from input devices such askeyboards, mice, joysticks, game pads, touch pads, track balls, andheadsets. These input devices create input signals using touch sensors,transducers, or switches. Switches are typically found in the buttons ofmice, joysticks, and game pads, as well as in the keys of keyboards.Transducers are found in mice and track balls and create electricalsignals based on the movement of balls in those devices. Transducers arealso found in headsets where they convert speech signals into electricalsignals. Touch sensors are found in touch pads and provide an electricalsignal when the user contacts the touch pad that includes the locationwithin the touch pad where contact was made.

Although it is desirable to increase the amount of information that aninput device can provide to the computer, the number of transducers andswitches that can be added to an input device is limited by the user'sability to remember all of the functions that a particular transducer orswitch performs. In. addition, the number of transducers and switchesthat can be added to an input device is limited by the average user'sdexterity and their physical ability to manipulate the added controls.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In a method of the present invention, a device message is generatedindicating that a touch sensor on an input device has been touchedwithout indicating what location on the touch sensor has been touched.The device message is routed to an application and instructions withinthe application are executed based on the device message.

Under various embodiments, the executed instructions perform a number offunctions including removing a displayed screen saver, creatinganimation around a displayed cursor, spinning a disc drive, initiating aspeech recognition program, locating a cursor in a hypertext link andcollecting user profile information.

Under further embodiments of the invention a plurality of devicemessages are generated that each indicate which of a plurality ofrespective touch sensors have been touched. The multiple device messagesare used by various embodiments to perform a number of functionsincluding determining with which hand the user holds the input device,adjusting the size of an ink trail left by a cursor, adjusting the speedat which the cursor moves across the screen, paging through documents,scrolling through documents, and navigating through a pie menu.

In further embodiments of the invention a device message is generatedwhen a user releases a touch sensor on an input device. The devicemessage is routed to an application, which executes instructions basedon the message. These instructions perform a variety of functions in thevarious embodiments of the invention. For example, the instructions cancause items such as cursors, tool tips, and tool bars to disappear whenthe user is not touching the input device. The instructions can alsosuppress audio signals when the user is not touching the input device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a computer system of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a more detailed block diagram of one embodiment of an inputdevice of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a headset of the present invention.

FIG. 4A is a perspective view of a mouse of the present invention.

FIG. 4B is a bottom view of the mouse of FIG. 4A.

FIG. 4C is a perspective view of a circuit board of the mouse of FIG.4A.

FIG. 5 is a top view of another embodiment of a mouse of the presentinvention.

FIG. 6A is a left side view of another embodiment of a mouse of thepresent invention.

FIG. 6B is a left side view of another embodiment of a mouse of thepresent invention.

FIG. 6C is a right side view of another embodiment of a mouse of thepresent invention.

FIG. 6D is a right side view of another embodiment of a mouse of thepresent invention.

FIGS. 7A and 7B are a left side view and a top view, respectively, ofanother embodiment of a mouse of the present invention.

FIGS. 8A and 8B are a left side view and a top view, respectively, ofanother embodiment of a mouse of the present invention.

FIGS. 9A, 9B and 9C are a left side view, a top view, and a right sideview, respectively, of another embodiment of a mouse of the presentinvention.

FIGS. 10A, 10B, 10C, 10D, 10E, 10F, 10G, and 10H, are top views ofdifferent embodiments for a mouse button under the present invention.

FIG. 11A is a top view of another embodiment of a mouse under thepresent invention.

FIG. 11B is a top view of another embodiment of a mouse under thepresent invention.

FIGS. 12A and 12B are right side views of different embodiments of miceunder the present invention.

FIGS. 13A, 13B, 13C, and 13D are left side views of differentembodiments of mice under the present invention.

FIGS. 14A, 14B, 14C, and 14D are top views of different embodiments ofmice under the present invention showing touch sensor proximate a wheelon a mouse.

FIG. 15 is a perspective view of a track ball of the present invention.

FIG. 16 is a perspective view of a joystick of the present invention.

FIG. 17 is a perspective view of a game pad of the present invention.

FIG. 18 is a perspective view of a keyboard of the present invention.

FIG. 19 is a more detailed block diagram of the computer of FIG. 1.

FIG. 20 is a screen display as it appears before an input device of thepresent invention is touched.

FIG. 21 is an image of a screen display after an input device of thepresent invention has been touched.

FIG. 22 is an image of a screen display showing a pull-down menuactivated through the present invention.

FIG. 23 is an image of a screen display showing a second pull-down menuopened through the present invention.

FIG. 24 is an image of a screen display showing an item selected in apull-down menu through the process of the present invention.

FIG. 25 is an image of a screen display showing a radial menu.

FIGS. 26A, 26B, 26C, show animation around a cursor in response to aninput device of the present invention being touched.

FIG. 27 is an image of a screen saver.

FIG. 28 is an image of a screen display showing ink trails of differentwidths produced by the input device of the present invention.

FIG. 29 is an image of a screen display showing a cursor in a hypertextlink.

FIG. 30 is an image of a screen display showing a web browser thatincludes a current page.

FIG. 31 is an image of a screen display showing a web browser thatincludes a past page.

FIG. 32 is an image of a screen display showing a web browser thatincludes a next page.

FIG. 33 is a top view of an Internet set-top remote control.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 and the related discussion are intended to provide a brief,general description of a suitable computing environment in which theinvention may be implemented. Although not required, the invention willbe described, at least in part, in the general context ofcomputer-executable instructions, such as program modules, beingexecuted by a personal computer. Generally, program modules includeroutine programs, objects, components, data structures, etc. thatperform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types.Moreover, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the inventionmay be practiced with other computer system configurations, includinghand-held devices, multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based orprogrammable consumer electronics, network PCs, minicomputers, mainframecomputers, and the like. The invention may also be practiced indistributed computing environments where tasks are performed by remoteprocessing devices that are linked through a communications network. Ina distributed computing environment, program modules may be located inboth local and remote memory storage devices.

With reference to FIG. 1, an exemplary system for implementing theinvention includes a general purpose computing device in the form of aconventional personal computer 20, including a processing unit (CPU) 21,a system memory 22, and a system bus 23 that couples various systemcomponents including the system memory 22 to the processing unit 21. Thesystem bus 23 may be any of several types of bus structures including amemory bus or memory controller, a peripheral bus, and a local bus usingany of a variety of bus architectures. The system memory 22 includesread only memory (ROM) 24 and random access memory (RAM) 25. A basicinput/output (BIOS) 26, containing the basic routine that helps totransfer information between elements within the personal computer 20,such as during start-up, is stored in ROM 24. The personal computer 20further includes a hard disk drive 27 for reading from and writing to ahard disk (not shown), a magnetic disk drive 28 for reading from orwriting to removable magnetic disk 29, and an optical disk drive 30 forreading from or writing to a removable optical disk 31 such as a CD ROMor other optical media. The hard disk drive 27, magnetic disk drive 28,and optical disk drive 30 are connected to the system bus 23 by a harddisk drive interface 32, magnetic disk drive interface 33, and anoptical drive interface 34, respectively. The drives and the associatedcomputer readable media provide nonvolatile storage of computer readableinstructions, data structures, program modules and other data for thepersonal computer 20.

Although the exemplary environment described herein employs the harddisk, the removable magnetic disk 29 and the removable optical disk 31,it should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that other types ofcomputer readable media which can store data that is accessible by acomputer, such as magnetic cassettes, flash memory cards, digital videodisks, Bernoulli cartridges, random access memories (RAMs), read onlymemory (ROM), and the like, may also be used in the exemplary operatingenvironment.

A number of program modules may be stored on the hard disk, magneticdisk 29, optical disk 31, ROM 24 or RAM 25, including an operatingsystem 35, one or more application programs 36, other program modules37, program data 38, and device driver 60. The device driver processcommands and information entered by a user through an input device 43,which can include a keyboard, a pointing device, a microphone, aheadset, a track ball, a joystick, a game pad, or the like. Under thepresent invention, at least one of the input devices includes both atouch sensor 40 and a movement transducer 42. Touch sensor 40 is capableof generating a signal that indicates when the user is touching theinput device. Movement transducer 42 is capable of generating a signalthat indicates when a user causes part of the input device to move. Thesignals generated by touch sensor 40 and movement transducer 42 arepassed along a conductor connected to the processing unit 21 through aserial port interface 46 that is coupled to the system bus 23, but maybe connected by other interfaces, such as a sound card, a parallel port,a game port or a universal serial bus (USB).

A monitor 47 or other type of display device is also connected to thesystem bus 23 via an interface, such as a video adapter 48. In additionto the monitor 47, personal computers may typically include otherperipheral output devices, such as a speaker 45 and printers (notshown).

The personal computer 20 may operate in a networked environment usinglogic connections to one or more remote computers, such as a remotecomputer 49. The remote computer 49 may be another personal computer, ahand-held device, a server, a router, a network PC, a peer device orother network node, and typically includes many or all of the elementsdescribed above relative to the personal computer 20, although only amemory storage device 50 has been illustrated in FIG. 1. The logicconnections depicted in FIG. 1 include a local area network (LAN) 51 anda wide area network (WAN) 52. Such networking environments arecommonplace in offices, enterprise-wide computer network intranets, andthe Internet.

When used in a LAN networking environment, the personal computer 20 isconnected to the local area network 51 through a network interface oradapter 53. When used in a WAN networking environment, the personalcomputer 20 typically includes a modem 54 or other means forestablishing communications over the wide area network 52, such as theInternet. The modem 54, which may be internal or external, is connectedto the system bus 23 via the serial port interface 46. In a networkenvironment, program modules depicted relative to the personal computer20, or portions thereof, may be stored in the remote memory storagedevices. It will be appreciated that the network connections shown areexemplary and other means of establishing a communications link betweenthe computers may be used. For example, a wireless communication linkmay be established between one or more portions of the network.

FIG. 2 is an expanded block diagram of a portion of one embodiment of aninput device 43 of FIG. 1. Input device 43 includes an array of fourtouch sensors 100, 102, 104, and 106. Each of the sensors produces anelectrical signal along a respective conductor 108, 110, 112, and 114,which are connected to an analog-to-digital converter and multiplexer116. Touch sensors 100, 102, 104, and 106, generate their electricalsignals based on actual contact between the user and a portion of thesensor or based on extreme proximity between the user and the sensor.Those touch sensors that rely on contact are referred to as contactsensors and those that rely on proximity are referred to as proximitysensors. In the context of this application, a touch sensor is touchedwhen it is contacted in the case of contact sensors or when the user issufficiently proximate the sensor in the case of proximity sensors.

In some contact sensor embodiments, a touch sensor includes a conductivefilm available from ChemTronics that has a capacitance that changes whenit is touched. This sensor also includes a capacitive measuring circuitthat generates an electrical signal based on the change in capacitanceof the conductive film. Those skilled in the art will recognize thatother contact sensor technologies are available such as photodiodes,piezoelectric materials, and capacitive pressure sensors. Any of thesesensors may be used within the context of the present invention. In oneproximity sensor embodiment, the touch sensor uses reflected light froman LED to detect when the user is proximate the sensor. A chip used todrive the LED and sense the reflected light under this embodiment isproduced by Hamamatsu Corporation of Bridgewater, N.J. Other proximitysensor embodiments use changes in electric or magnetic fields near theinput device to determine when the user is proximate the device.

In embodiments of the present invention, the touch sensors provide thesame information regardless of where on the touch sensor the usertouches the input device or the portion of the sensor that the user isproximate. Thus, a given touch sensor does not provide locationinformation that would indicate where the user made contact within thattouch sensor or where the user came closest to the touch sensor withinthe touch sensor. Thus, under the present invention, the touch sensorsdecouple touch data from position data.

This distinguishes the present invention from touch pads, touch screensand touch tablets of the prior art. In all of these prior devices, onecannot specify positional data without touching the device, nor can onetouch the device without specifying a position. Hence, touch-sensing andposition sensing are tightly coupled in these prior devices.

Analog-to-digital converter and multiplexer 116 converts the analogelectrical signals found on conductors 108, 110, 112, and 114, intodigital values carried on a line 118. Line 118 is connected tomicrocontroller 120, which controls multiplexer 116 to selectivelymonitor the state of the four touch sensors. Microcontroller 120 alsoreceives inputs from various other sensors on the input device. Forsimplicity, these inputs are shown collectively as input 122. Thoseskilled in the art will recognize that different input devices providedifferent input signals depending on the types of motion sensors in theinput device. Examples of motion sensors include switches, which providesignals indicative of the motion needed to close a switch; microphones,which provide signals indicative of air movement created by an audiosignal; encoder wheels, which provide signals indicative of the motionof a mouse ball, track ball, or mouse wheel; and resistance wipers,which provide electrical signals indicative of the movements of ajoystick. Each of these motion sensors acts as an input generator thatis capable of generating input information to be sent to the computersystem. Based on the particular input generator, this input informationcan include a depressible key's state, a depressible button's state,sound information, or movement information.

Those skilled in the art will also recognize that the number of inputlines tied to microcontroller 120 depends on the number of sensors onthe input device and the configuration of the input device. For example,for a keyboard, the microcontroller uses input lines to determine if anyof the keys have been depressed. The microcontroller accomplishes thisusing a multiplexer (not shown) to sequentially test the state of eachkey on the keyboard. The techniques used to detect these switch closuresare well known in the keyboard art.

In a mouse or track ball, input lines 122 include lines for detectingthe closure of switches and lines for detecting the rotation of encoderwheels. The switches are located beneath buttons on the mouse or tackball. The encoder wheels track the movement of the mouse ball or trackball. Typically, one encoder wheel tracks movement in the X directionand another encoder wheel tracks movement in the Y direction. In mostembodiments, each encoder wheel has its own associated input line intomicrocontroller 120. In some mice, an additional encoder wheel tracksthe rotation of a wheel located on top of the mouse.

In some mice, the X and Y movement of the mouse is tracked by a separateoptics microcontroller that is connected to microcontroller 120 throughlines 122. The optics microcontroller uses optical data to determinemovement of the mouse. The optical microcontroller converts this opticaldata into movement values that are transmitted to microcontroller 120along input lines 122.

In a game pad, input lines 122 include lines for detecting the closureof multiple switches on the game pad as well as lines for detecting therotation of wheels on the game pad. In joysticks, input lines 122 caninclude lines connected to resistance wipers on the joystick as well asswitches on the joystick. In headsets, lines 122 include multiple linesthat carry multi-bit digital values indicative of the magnitude of theanalog electrical signal generated by the microphone. These digitalvalues are typically produced by an analog-to-digital converter. Toreduce the weight of the headset, the analog-to-digital converter andmicrocontroller 120 are often found on a soundboard located within thecomputer. To further reduce the weight of the headset, multiplexer andA-to-D converter 116 of FIG. 2 can also be implemented on thesoundboard.

Microcontroller 120 produces an output 124, which is provided to serialport interface 46 of FIG. 1. Typically, output 124 is a serial, digitalvalue that indicates which motion sensor or touch sensor has beenactivated. For keyboards, the digital values include scan codes thatuniquely identify the key or touch sensor on the keyboard that has beenactivated. For mice, the digital values include a mouse packet thatdescribes the current state of each switch and each touch sensor on themouse as well as the distances that the mouse wheel and mouse ball havemoved since the last mouse packet was sent.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a headset 150 of the present invention.Headset 150 includes a microphone 152, a support piece 154, a touchsensor 156, and an output line 158. Support piece 154 is designed toloop around a user's ear to support the headset such that microphone 152positioned in front of the user's mouth.

Output line 158 carries signals from microphone 152 and from touchsensor 156. In some embodiments, headset 150 is connected to a computersystem that includes a speech recognition system. In these embodiments,the speech recognition system is inactive unless touch sensor 156indicates that headset 150 is being touched by a user. The activation ofthe speech recognition system can include loading the speech recognitionsystem into random access memory when the user first touches headset154. It can also include prompting a speech recognition system thatresides in random access memory so that it can process input speechsignals. In either case, by only activating the speech recognitionsystem when headset 150 indicates that the user is touching the headset,the present invention reduces the likelihood that extraneous speech willbe processed by the speech recognition system.

FIG. 4A is a perspective view of one embodiment of a mouse 170 of thepresent invention. Mouse 170 includes a palm-rest 172, a left button174, a right button 176, a wheel 178, a side 180, and an output line182. Palm-rest 172, left button 174, and two side areas 184 and 186 ofside 180 are coated with separate conductive films. Each of theconductive films is connected to and forms part of a separate sensorsuch as sensor 100, 102, 104, and 106 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4B shows a bottom view of mouse 170. Mouse 170 includes a trackball 190 located in a track ball nest 192. When mouse 170 is movedacross a surface through force applied at palm-rest 172, side 180, leftbutton 174, or right button 176, track ball 190 rolls within nest 192.This rolling is detected by a pair of encoder wheels 194 and 196 thatare shown in FIG. 4C

FIG. 4C is a perspective view of some of the internal electronics 189 ofmouse 170. In FIG. 4C, track ball 190 has been omitted for clarity.Internal electronics 189 include encoder wheels 194 and 196, that detectmovements of track ball 190 along two perpendicular directions. Theencoder wheels produce electrical signals that are provided tomicrocontroller 200, which also receives inputs from switches 202 and204 located under left button 174 and right button 176, respectively.Switches 202 and 204 indicate when left button 174 and right button 176,respectively, have been depressed by the user. Microcontroller 200 alsoreceives signals from switch 201, which indicate when wheel 178 has beendepressed, and an encoder wheel 203, which indicates rotational movementof wheel 178. Microcontroller 200 also receives electrical signals fromthe four sensors attached to the conductive films on palm-rest 172, leftbutton 174, and side areas 184 and 186 of FIG. 4A. These four sensorsare grouped together in FIG. 4C as sensor array 206.

Thus, the mouse of the present invention is able to detect when certainareas of the mouse are being touched and when portions of the mouse orthe entire mouse are being moved. Specifically, the conductive films atpalm-rest 172, left button 174, and side areas 184 and 186 indicate whenthese areas are being touched by the user. Note that even if the userdoes not move the mouse or press a button, the sensors associated withthe conductive films of FIG. 4A will generate an electrical signal whenthe user touches the mouse. Encoder wheels 194 and 196 generate aseparate electrical signal when the user moves the mouse and switches202, 204, and 201 generate separate electrical signals when the userdepresses buttons 174 and 176, and wheel 178 respectively. Thus, themouse of the present invention adds functionality without increasingdexterity needed to manipulate the controls of the mouse.

In alternative embodiments of the present invention, track ball 190 andencoder wheels 194 and 196 are replaced by a solid-stateposition-tracking device that collects images of the surface that themouse travels over to determine changes in the position of the mouse.Under these embodiments, the mouse typically includes a light sourceused to illuminate the surface, an optics system used to collect imagesof the surface, and a processor used to compare the various images todetermine if the mouse has moved, and if so, in what direction. Sincethe solid-state position-tracking device converts movement into anelectrical signal, it can be considered to be a sophisticated transduceror motion sensor.

FIGS. 5, 6A, 6B, 6C, 6D, 7A, 7B, 8A, 8B, 9A, 9B, 9C, 10A, 10B, 10C, 10D,10E, 10F, 10G, 10H, 11A, 11B, 12A, 12B, 13A, 13B, 13C, 13D, 14A, 14B,14C, and 14D show alternative configurations for a mouse under thepresent invention. FIG. 5 is a top view of a mouse that only has a touchsensor on its palm rest 600. FIGS. 6A, and 6B, show separate miceembodiments that each have a sensor at the palm rest and along the leftside of the mouse. In FIG. 6A, which is a side view, a single sensor 602covers both the palm rest and the left side of the mouse. In FIG. 6B,also a side view, one sensor covers a palm rest 604 and a separatesensor covers a left side 606.

FIGS. 6C and 6D show separate mice embodiments of the present inventionthat each has a sensor at the palm rest and along the right side of themouse. In FIG. 6C, which is a right side view, a single sensor 603covers both the right side and the palm rest. In FIG. 6D, also a rightside view, one sensor 605 covers the palm rest and a separate sensor 607covers the right side.

FIGS. 7A and 7B show a side view and a top view, respectively, of amouse embodiment having a single sensor 608 across a palm rest and aleft side of the mouse, and a separate sensor 610 on the left button ofthe mouse. FIGS. 8A and 8B show a side view and a top view,respectively, of a mouse embodiment having a single touch sensor 612across the palm rest and left side of the mouse, a touch sensor 614 onthe left button of the mouse and a touch sensor 616 on the right buttonof the mouse.

FIGS. 9A, 9B, and 9C show a left side view, a top view and a right sideview, respectively, of a mouse 690 of the present invention. Mouse 690includes a left side sensor 692, a palm sensor 694, a right side sensor696, and a button sensor 698. In mouse 690, right side sensor 696 andleft side sensor 692 are separate from palm sensor 649. In anotherembodiment of the present invention, these three sensors are formed as asingle sensor.

FIGS. 10A, 10B, 10C, 10D, 10E, 10F, 10G and 10H show top views ofdifferent mice embodiments showing possible configurations for touchsensors on the left button of a mouse of the present invention. Thesebutton configurations may appear alone on the mouse or in combinationwith other sensors on other parts of the mouse. FIG. 10A shows a singlesolid sensor 618 across the entire left button. FIG. 10B shows a set ofsix sensor strips 620 that each produce a separate electrical signalwhen they are touched. FIG. 10C shows two regions 624 and 626 separatedby a ridge 628. Both region 624 and 626 end at a front end 627 of button622. FIG. 10D shows two regions 634 and 637 separated by a ridge 636,where regions 634 and 637 both end at a side end 631 of button 630. Theconfigurations of buttons 622 and 630 are particularly useful in pagingthrough documents as discussed below. FIG. 10E shows a buttonconfiguration for a button 640 having four separate sensor areas formedas squares 641, 642, 643, and 644. In some embodiments, the lines thatseparate the four sensor areas are formed as ridges that have adifferent topography from the sensor areas. FIG. 10F also shows fourseparate sensors on a button 646. In FIG. 10F three of the sensor areas650, 651, and 652 are found at a front end of button 646, and theremaining sensor 648 covers the remainder of button 646. FIG. 10G showsa button 660 with nine sensor regions arranged in a layout similar to akeypad. FIG. 10H shows a button 670 with an outer circle of eightsensors 672 that surrounds a central sensor 674. The configuration ofbutton 670 is especially useful for manipulating radial menus.

FIGS. 11A and 11B show mice embodiments that include separate sensors onboth buttons of the mouse. In FIG. 11A, buttons 700 and 702 have sensorsbut palm rest 704 does not have a sensor. In FIG. 11B, buttons 706 and708 and palm rest 710 each has separate sensors.

FIGS. 12A and 12B show mice embodiments with multiple sensors along theright side of the mouse. In FIG. 12A, which is a right side view, thereare two sensors 720 and 722 along the right side. In FIG. 12B, there arethree sensors 724, 726, and 728 along the right side.

FIGS. 13A, 13B, 13C, and 13D show side views of mice embodiments withmultiple sensors along the left side of the mouse. The mouse of FIG. 13Ahas two sensors 734 and 736 along the left side. In FIG. 13B, the mousehas three touch sensors 738, 740, and 742, each separated by a space.The mouse of FIG. 13C also has three touch sensors along the left side.However, in FIG. 13C, middle touch sensor 744, which is located betweensensors 746 and 748, has a raised surface and is formed as a ridgebetween sensors 746 and 748. The raised surface of sensor 744 providestactile feedback to the user to allow the user to determine the positionof their thumb without looking at the mouse. FIG. 13D shows a mouseembodiment with a plurality of strips 752 running along the left side ofthe mouse.

Note that all of the embodiments of FIGS. 12A, 12B, 13A, 13B, 13C, and13D can be practiced under the present invention along with a sensorlocated on the palm rest and/or a sensor located on the left buttonand/or a sensor located on the right button.

FIGS. 14A, 14B, 14C, and 14D are top views of mice embodiments withtouch sensors proximate a wheel on a mouse. In FIG. 14A, the touchsensor is located directly on a wheel 760. In FIG. 14B, one touch sensor762 is located forward of a wheel 764, and one touch sensor 766 islocated in back of wheel 764. In the embodiment of FIG. 14B, wheel 764does not have a touch sensor. In FIG. 14C, one touch sensor 770 islocated in front of a wheel 768 and one touch sensor 772 is located inback of wheel 768. In addition, wheel 768 includes a touch sensor. Inthe embodiment of FIG. 14D, touch sensors are located on a wheel 774,front area 776, which is in front of wheel 774, back area 778, which isin back of wheel 774, and palm rest 780.

Although various embodiments have been described with particularity withrespect to touch sensor location in FIGS. 5, 6A, 6B, 6C, 6D, 7A, 7B, 8A,8B, 9A, 9B, 9C, 10A, 10B, 10C, 10D, 10E, 10F, 10G, 10H, 11A, 11B, 12A,12B, 13A, 13B, 13C, 13D, 14A, 14B, 14C, and 14D, it should be noted thatsensors may also be included in other locations. For example, it ispossible to combine some or all of the touch sensors illustrated in oneembodiment with some or all of the touch sensors illustrated in anotherembodiment.

FIG. 15 is a perspective view of a track ball 220 of the presentinvention. Track ball 220 includes a base 222, buttons 224 and 226, anda ball 228. In one embodiment of the present invention, track ball 228is coated with a conductive film that is contacted by three rotatingmetal wheels (not shown) in base 222. One of the metal wheels iscontacted by a conductive sheet that sits behind the wheel and ispressed into the wheel by a spring force. The conductive sheet isfurther connected to a touch sensor that produces an electrical signalwhen track ball 228 is touched by a user. The other two wheels in base222 form two orthogonal motion sensors (not shown) capable of trackingthe rotary motion of track ball 228 in base 222. Beneath buttons 224 and226, base 222 includes two switches that are capable of generatingelectrical signals when a user depresses buttons 224 and 226. Thus,track ball 220 is able to provide one electrical signal based on theuser simply touching ball 228 and separate electrical signals based onthe user moving track ball 228 or depressing buttons 224 or 226.

FIG. 16 is a perspective view of a joystick 240 of the present inventionthat includes a base 242, a handle 244, a trigger 246, and buttons 248,250, and 252. In one embodiment of the present invention, trigger 246 iscoated with a conductive film that is connected to a touch sensor withinbase 242. In further embodiments, button 248 is also coated with aconductive film connected to a separate touch sensor in base 242.Trigger 246 and buttons 248, 250, and 252 are further connected toswitches that provide respective electrical signals when the userdepresses the respective buttons or trigger. Handle 244 is connected toa set of transducers that track the relative motion of handle 244relative to base 242. Thus, joystick 240 provides a set of electricalsignals when the user is touching trigger 246 or button 248 and aseparate set of electrical signals when the user moves handles 244 ormoves trigger 246 or buttons 248, 250, or 252.

FIG. 17 is a perspective view of a game pad 260 of the present inventionhaving side buttons 262 and 264, left hand buttons 266, 268, 270, 272,274, and 276 and right hand buttons 278, 280, 282, 284, 286, and 288. Inaddition, game pad 260 has a start button 290 and a select button 292.In some embodiments of the present invention, side buttons 262 and 264are each coated with a conductive film that is connected to a respectivetouch sensor within game pad 260. Game pad 260 also includes a pluralityof switches, one switch for each button on the game pad. Thus, in someembodiments, game pad 260 is able to provide one set of signalsindicative of when the user is touching side buttons 262 and 264 and asecond set of electrical signals indicative of when the user hasdepressed a button on game pad 260.

FIG. 18 depicts a keyboard 300 of one embodiment of the presentinvention that has a typical QWERTY layout 302 on the left side of thekeyboard and a numeric keypad 304 on the right side. Numeric keypad 304includes the numbers 0-9 with the numbers 1-9 appearing in a 3×3 box. Insome embodiments, all nine of these keys are covered with a conductivefilm. In other embodiments, other keys on the keyboard are covered bythe conductive film. The conductive film on each key is connected to andforms part of a separate touch sensor in keyboard 300. The applicationof such touch sensors in the present invention is discussed furtherbelow. The fact that each key has a conductive film means that the keysare each able to provide two signals. One signal is provided when theuser touches but does not depress the key and a second signal isprovided when the user depresses the key.

Additional touch sensors are located on keyboard casing 301 at portions306 and 307 below space bar 308, at portion 309 below arrow keys 310,and at a portion 311 below key pad 304. Arrow keys 310 are typicallyused by the user to move a cursor across the display. Note that althoughkeyboard 300 is shown with touch sensors on the keys and touch sensorson portions 306, 307, 309, and 311, other embodiments of the inventiononly have touch sensors on the keys or only on one of the portions 306,307, 309, and 311. In other embodiments, different combinations of thesetouch sensors are found on the keyboard. In addition, some or all of thetouch sensors on portions 307, 307, 309, and 311 are proximity sensorsin some embodiments. The proximity sensors can detect the user's handwhen it is near the sensor without requiring the hand to actuallycontact the sensor.

FIG. 19 is a more detailed block diagram of computer 20 useful indescribing a message routing system of one embodiment of the presentinvention. In FIG. 19, input device 43 provides a serial binary signalto serial interface 46. Input device 43 can include any of the inputdevices described above that have touch sensors.

Serial interface 46 converts the serial binary signal from input device43 into parallel multi-bit values that are passed to device driver 60.In many embodiments of the present invention device driver 60 isimplemented as a software routine that is executed by CPU 21 of FIG. 1.In these embodiments, device driver 60 is input device specific and isdesigned to interact with a particular input device based on adesignated protocol. Thus, if input device 43 is a mouse, device driver60 is a mouse driver that is designed to receive mouse packets generatedby the mouse using a mouse packet protocol. If input device 43 is akeyboard, device driver 60 is a keyboard driver designed to receivekeyboard scan codes indicative of a key being depressed or a touchsensor being touched.

Based on the designated protocol, device driver 60 converts themulti-bit values into device messages that are passed to operatingsystem 35. These device messages indicate what events have taken placeon the input device. For example if a touch sensor on a mouse has beentouched, the message indicates that the particular sensor is beingtouched. When the touch sensor is released, a separate message isgenerated by device driver 60 to indicate that the touch sensor has beenreleased.

The messages generated by device driver 60 are provided to operatingsystem 35, which controls the routing of these messages. Under manyembodiments, the device messages are usually sent to a focus application812. The focus application is typically the application that has thetop-most window on the display.

In some embodiments of operating system 35, the operating systemmaintains a list of message hook procedures that have been registeredwith the operating system. In these embodiments, operating system 35sequentially passes the device message to each message hook procedure onthe list before sending the message to focus application 812. Suchmessage hook procedures are shown generally as message hook procedures810 of FIG. 19. Most message hook procedures simply evaluate the devicemessage to determine if some action should be taken. After evaluatingthe device message, the message hook procedure returns a value tooperating system 35 indicating that the operating system should pass thedevice message to the next procedure in the list. Some message hookprocedures have the ability to “eat” a device message by returning avalue to operating system 35 that indicates that the operating systemshould not pass the device message to any other message hook proceduresor to the focus application.

The message hook procedures and the focus application use the devicemessages, especially those indicating that a touch sensor has beentouched, to initiate a variety of functions that are discussed below.

For example, FIGS. 20 and 21 depict images of screens displayed byvarious applications of the present invention that utilize devicemessages generated based on signals from an input device of the presentinvention such as mouse 170 and track ball 220 of FIGS. 4A and 15,respectively. FIG. 20 depicts an image of a screen 320 that shows avirtual desktop 322. Virtual desktop 322 includes images of icons 324and 326 as well as an open window 328. Open window 328 is associatedwith a word processing application known as Microsoft Word, offered byMicrosoft Corporation of Redmond, Wash.

In Window 328, a caret 330 is positioned within a sentence of an opendocument. Caret 330 is may be positioned by moving mouse 170 or ball 228of track ball 220. In FIG. 20 caret 330 appears as a vertical line thatextends between two smaller horizontal lines. Those skilled in the artwill recognize that caret 330 can have many different shapes, andtypically appears as an arrow on desktop 322.

The position of caret 330 within the sentence of window 328 causes atool tip 332 to appear. Tool tip 332 indicates who entered the word thatcaret 330 is positioned over.

Window 328 also includes a tool bar 334 that includes drawing tools thatcan be used to draw pictures in the document of window 328.

Under embodiments of the present invention, caret 330, tool tip 332, andtool bar 334 only appear in window 328 while the user is touching aportion of the input device. If the user is not touching the inputdevice, caret 330, tool tip 332, and tool bar 334 disappear. FIG. 21shows an image of display 320 when the user is not touching a portion ofthe input device. By eliminating tool bar 334, caret 330, and tool tip332 when the user is not touching the input device, the presentinvention reduces the clutter found in window 328 and makes it easierfor the user to read the document shown in window 328.

Those skilled in the art will recognize that the disappearance of cursor330, tool tip 332, and tool bar 334 when the user is not touching theinput device can be controlled independently. Thus, the user maycustomize window 328 such that tool tip 332, and tool bar 334 disappearwhen the user releases the input device, but caret 330 remains visible.In addition, the rate at which items disappear and reappear can becontrolled. Thus, it is possible to fade images off the display and tofade them back onto the display as the user releases and then touchesthe input device. In some embodiments, the fade-out period is 2.0seconds to minimize distraction, and the fade-in period is 0.0 secondsfor the cursor, which appears instantly and 0.3 seconds for toolbars.

FIGS. 22, 23, and 24 show a series of display screens that includepull-down menus that are displayed as a result of keyboard messages fromkeyboard 300 of FIG. 18. In particular, in screen image 350 of FIG. 22,an application generates an active window 352 on virtual desktop 354that includes an image of a pull-down menu 356. Pull-down menu 356 isassociated with a menu heading entitled “Tools” found in a menu bar 358.Pull-down menu 356 is displayed in response to a keyboard message thatindicates that the user is touching but not depressing one of the keysof numeric keypad 304 of keyboard 300.

In other embodiments, the user may move left and right across menu bar358 by using the keys representing the numbers “4” and “6” on numerickeypad 304. As the user moves across menu bar 358 a different pull-downmenu is displayed for each respective menu heading. Specifically, bytouching the key representing the number “4”, the user causes a keyboardmessage to be sent to the application, which changes the display so thatthe menu heading to the left of the current menu heading in header menu358 is displayed. Thus, if the pull-down menu for the menu heading“Tools” is currently displayed in window 352, touching the keyrepresenting the number “4” causes a pull-down menu associated with themenu heading “Insert” to be displayed. Similarly, the user can cause apull-down menu to appear for a menu heading to the right of the currentmenu heading by touching the key representing the number “6” on numerickeypad 304. Thus, if the current pull-down menu is associated with themenu heading “Tools”, and the user touches the key representing thenumber “6”, the pull-down menu associated with the menu heading “Format”in header menu 358 will be displayed. This is shown in FIG. 23 wherepull-down menu 360 for the menu heading “Format” 358 is displayed.

By touching the keys representing the numbers “2” and “8” on numerickeypad 304, the user can also move up and down within a pull-down menusuch as pull-down menu 360. As the user moves through a pull-down menu,different items within the pull-down menu become highlighted. An exampleof a highlighted entry is entry 362 of FIG. 23, which highlights theentry “Tabs” of pull-down window 360 as the current entry. If the usertouches the key representing the number “8” while entry 362 is thecurrent entry, the application that receives the associated keyboardmessage highlights entry 364 located above entry 362 as the currententry. If the user touches the key representing the number “2” whileentry 362 is the current entry, entry 366 below entry 362 is highlightedas the current entry.

FIG. 23 can also be used to describe another embodiment of the presentinvention. In particular, pull-down window 360 may also be activated bypositioning the caret over the menu heading “Format” and depressing aselect button on a pointing device such as mouse 170 or track ball 220of FIGS. 4A and 15, respectively. The user may select an entry inpull-down window 360 by moving the pointing device downward through thelist of entries. As the user moves the input device, individual entriesin the list are highlighted.

In the prior art, pull-down menu 360 will continue to be displayed, evenif the caret is positioned outside of the pull-down menu itself. Theonly way to make the pull-down menu disappear is to click on an areaoutside of the menu itself. However, under an embodiment of the presentinvention, the application that produces the pull-down menu, removes thepull-down menu as soon as it receives a mouse message that indicatesthat the user released the pointing device. This improves userefficiency by reducing the movements the user must make to close thepull-down windows associated with header menu 358.

FIG. 25 is an image of a display screen that includes a radial menu 370that is displayed under an alternative embodiment of the presentinvention. Radial menu 370 includes eight entries arranged in a circle371 around a cancel button 372. Radial menu 370 may either bemanipulated by using keyboard 300 of FIG. 18 or by using the touchsensors on button 670 of the mouse of FIG. 10H.

Using keyboard 300, a focus application displays radial menu 370 when itreceives a keyboard message indicating that a user touched one of thekeys in key pad 304. To highlight a specific entry, the user touches akey in key pad 304 that is spatially related to the entry. For example,to highlight entry 373 of radial menu 370, the user touches the keyrepresenting the number “8”, which is located directly above a centerkey representing the number “5” because the spatial positioning of the“8” key relative to the “5” key is the same as the spatial relationshipbetween entry 373 and cancel button 372. To select an entry, the userdepresses the key that causes the entry to be highlighted. To dismissthe radial menu, the user depress the “5” key.

To manipulate the radial menu using the touch sensors of button 670 onthe mouse of FIG. 10H, the user simply touches the touch sensor thatcorresponds to an entry on the radial menu. Simply touching thecorresponding touch sensor causes the entry to be highlighted.Depressing button 670 while touching the corresponding touch sensorcauses the entry to be selected. The application determines that bothevents have occurred based on two separate mouse messages. A first mousemessage indicates which touch sensor is currently being touched. Asecond mouse message indicates that the left button has been depressed

FIGS. 26A, 26B, and 26C, show images of screens displayed by a programapplication of the present invention that depict an animation created bythe application. In particular, these Figures show the animation of acaret “sonar” that is formed by sequentially placing rings around thecaret. This animated sonar is initiated under the present invention whenthe user initially touches an input device such as mouse 170 of FIG. 4A.

The animation can be seen in FIGS. 26A, 26B, and 26C by viewing therespective displays 400, 402, and 406 as a sequence of displays that arepresented to the user in that order. In display 400 of FIG. 26A, caret406, which appears as an arrow, is shown without any surroundinggraphics. In display 402, caret 406 is surrounded by a circle 408. Indisplay 404, caret 406 is surrounded by two circles 408 and 410. Underone embodiment, the animation of FIGS. 26A, 26B, and 26C only last for0.3 seconds after the user initially touches the input device.

FIG. 26A can also be used to describe another embodiment of the presentinvention. Specifically, under this embodiment of the present invention,caret 406 of FIG. 26A will not move unless the input device is beingtouched by the user while it is being moved. Thus, if mouse 170 movesbecause the user accidentally kicks the cord of the mouse, caret 406will not move under the present invention since the user was nottouching the mouse directly. Under prior art systems, applications movedthe caret upon receiving a mouse message that indicated that the mousehad been moved. Under the present invention, the application only movesthe caret if it receives a message that the mouse is being touched and amessage that the mouse has moved. This helps to prevent unwantedmovement of the caret.

In the prior art of computer systems, if the user has not moved theinput device or has not entered text over a period of time, the computersystem will initiate a screen saver program. Such a program provides amostly black display to help reduce the wear on the screen. An exampleof a screen saver is shown in FIG. 27. Under the present invention, thescreen saver application will be stopped when the user touches an inputdevice of the present invention. Thus, the user does not have to movethe input device as in the prior art, but only has to touch the inputdevice in order to stop the screen saver program and to redisplay thevirtual desktop. Thus, when the user touches the input device, screensaver display 430 is replaced with a desktop display such as display 400of FIG. 26A.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the input device includesenough touch sensors that it is possible for the present invention toidentify how the user is gripping the input device. For example, mouse690 of FIGS. 9A, 9B, 9C, which is referred to by the inventors as a“pinch” mouse, includes two side touch sensors 692 and 696 and a palmrest touch sensor 694. Thus, it is possible for the applications of thepresent invention to identify which touch sensors the user is touchingbased on a collection of device messages and thus, how the user isgripping mouse 690.

This information can be used to control how the caret moves on thedisplay. For example, under one embodiment of the present invention, ifthe user is gripping mouse 690 so that the user's thumb is touching leftside sensor 692 and their palm is touching palm rest touch sensor 694,the caret moves relatively large distances across the display for fixedmovements of mouse 690. If the user is gripping mouse 690 such that theuser is touching left side sensor 692, right side sensor 696 but notpalm rest touch sensor 694, the caret moves small distances for the samefixed movement of mouse 690. This provides more flexibility in thecontrol of the caret and is useful in programs where the caret is usedto draw on the screen, to place the cursor on the screen, and to moveobjects.

In an alternative embodiment, the manner in which the user grips theinput device can be used to control the width of an ink trail producedbehind the caret as the user moves the input device. FIG. 28 is an imageof a display 436 showing two ink trails 438 and 440 of different widths.Under this embodiment of the invention, these ink trails are producedwhen the user grips the input device in two different ways. For example,narrow-width ink trail 438 is produced when the user touches both leftside sensor 692 and right side sensor 696 of mouse 690. On the otherhand, thick-width ink trail 440 is produced when the user touches leftside sensor 692 and palm-rest touch sensor 694 but not right side sensor696.

In further embodiments of the present invention, ink trails, such as inktrails 438 and 440 of FIG. 28 can be produced by touching a button on aninput device such as button 174 of FIG. 4A. In the prior art, such inktrails are usually only produced if the button is depressed. Under thepresent invention, the user does not have to strain to maintain pressureon the button while producing the ink trail. Instead, the user onlyneeds to keep their finger in contact with the button. Similarly, insome embodiments of the present invention, the user may open boxes, dragobjects, and initiate commands by simply touching the top of the buttoninstead of having to depress the button. The movement of the object,box, or ink trail is then controlled by the movement of the input deviceby the user while the user maintains contact with the button.

The user may also place a cursor within a hypertext link, such as link457 of FIG. 29, by touching a button on the input device while adisplayed caret 458 is positioned over the link. The user activates thelink by depressing the button. Such embodiments make it easier to placea cursor within a link without activating the link.

In one embodiment of the present invention, multiple touch areas on aninput device can be used to page backwards and forwards through webpages provided by an Internet browser. Examples of input devices havingmultiple touch sensitive areas useful in paging are the mice of FIGS.10C, 10D, 12A, 12B, 13A, 13B, and 13C. In FIG. 10C, touching region 624and then region 626 initiates a page backward function and touchingregion 626 and then region 624 initiates a page forward function. I;iFIG. 10D, touching region 637 and then region 634 initiates a pagebackward function and touching region 634 and then region 637 initiatesa page forward function. In FIGS. 12A and 12B, touching regions 722 and724, respectively, and then regions 720 and 728, respectively, initiatespage forward functions and touching regions 720 and 728, respectively,and then regions 722 and 724, respectively, initiates page backwardfunctions. In FIGS. 13A, 13B, and 13C, touching regions 734, 738, and746, respectively, and then touching regions 736, 742 and 748,respectively, initiates page forward functions and touching regions 736,742, and 748, respectively, and then touching regions 734, 738, and 746,respectively, initiates page backward functions.

Note that a mouse of the present invention can be configured so thatpaging functions are initiated simply by touching one touch sensorinstead of touching a sequence of two touch sensors. Thus, in FIG. 10Ctouching region 624 can initiate a page forward function and touchingregion 626 can initiate a page backward function. Similarly, touchingregion 734 of FIG. 13A can initiate a page forward function and touchingregion 736 of FIG. 13A can initiate a page backward function. In thiscontext, the touch sensors of the present invention provide thefunctionality of the side switches found in a patent application filedon even date herewith entitled “INPUT DEVICE WITH FORWARD/BACKWARDCONTROL”, and identified by attorney docket number M61.12-0083, theinventors of which were under a duty to assign the application to theassignee of the present application.

The paging functions performed using these touch areas are shown inFIGS. 30, 31, and 32. In FIG. 30 display 460 shows an Internet browserwindow 462 that depicts a current page 464. A user can page backward tothe Internet page that was displayed before current page 464 to displaya past page 470 of FIG. 31, which is shown in Internet browser window472. The user can move forward to a next page 476, shown in browserwindow 478 of display 480 in FIG. 32, using the touch sensor combinationdescribed above. In order to be able move forward to next page 476, theuser must at some point move backward from next page 476 to current page464.

Input devices of the present invention also allow for scrolling throughpages of documents on a line-by-line basis. In particular, the mice ofFIGS. 10B and 13D allow for scrolling using a series of touch sensorstrips on the left button and on the left side of the mouse,respectively. When the user strokes the strips by moving their thumb orfinger toward their hand, the document is scrolled downward. When theuser strokes the strips in the opposite direction, the document isscrolled upward. In some embodiments, the speed at which the strips arestroked determines the scroll rate.

Scrolling under the present invention is also accomplished using themice embodiments of FIGS. 14A, 14B, 14C, and 14D. In these embodiments,when the user rolls the wheel of the mouse toward their hand, thedocument scrolls down. When the user rolls the wheel away from theirhand, the document scrolls up. In addition, if the user's finger remainsin contact with a touch sensor on the wheel or on a touch sensor behindthe wheel after rotating the wheel backward, the document will continueto scroll until the user releases the touch sensor. Similarly, if theuser's finger remains in contact with a touch sensor on the wheel or atouch sensor in front of the wheel after the user has rolled the wheelforward, the document will continue to scroll up until the user releasesthe touch sensor. The sensor in front of the wheel can also be tapped byrapidly touching and releasing the touch sensor in order to page downthrough the document. Similarly, the sensor behind the wheel can betapped to page up through the document.

In addition to controlling the output images provided to the user,applications of the present invention also control audio signalspresented to the user based on touch-indicative signals provided by aninput device of the present invention. In some embodiments of thepresent invention, some audio signals are suppressed if the user istouching the input device. In other embodiments, audio signals aresuppressed if the user is not touching the input device. The audiosignals can include notification signals such as mail chimes, and hourlyclock bells.

Under some embodiments of the present invention, computer-executableinstructions determine at least one characteristic of how a user touchesan input device based on a touching signal from the input device. Otherinstructions record profile information about the user based on thischaracteristic. One simple characteristic is whether the user istouching the input device. Under an embodiment of the present invention,whether the user is touching the input device is recorded and istransmitted over a network to other users to indicate that the user ispresent at their station.

Additionally, the amount of time that the user spends touching the inputdevice can be recorded. This information can be refined to reflect theamount of time that the user is touching the input device while acertain page from the network is displayed as the top-most page on theircomputer screen. This is useful in determining the amount of time thatthe user spends looking at a page from the network for instance a pagefrom the Internet. Being able to track the amount of time a user spendslooking at particular pages on the Internet makes it possible to trackuser interest in pages and to make more accurate determinations ofwhether a user was likely to have viewed an advertisement on an Internetpage.

The mice embodiments and the keyboard embodiment of the presentinvention described above are particularly useful for collecting thistype of information. For the keyboard of FIG. 18, signals from touchsensors 306, 307, 309 and 311 are used to collect this type ofinformation.

In other embodiments of the present invention, computer-executableinstructions determine what hand the user uses to grip the input device.For example, since mouse 170 has side areas 184 and 186, the computersystem can determine if the user is gripping the mouse with their righthand or their left hand. If the user grips mouse 170 with their righthand, side area 186 will be covered by the user's thumb. If the usergrips mouse 170 with their left hand, side area 186 will not be coveredby the user's thumb. By identifying which hand the user uses to grip themouse, the computer system can identify the user's dominant hand and canallocate functions to the input device's buttons based on the user'sdominant hand. Thus, if the left button on the mouse is used for clickand drag functions for right handed users the right button on the mouseis used for click and drag functions for left handed users. This allowsboth left-handed and right-handed users to use the same fingers toactivate the same functions.

In one embodiment of the present invention, a computer system hascomputer-executable instructions for determining if the user is touchingthe input device and for initiating the spinning of a disk drive when itis determined that the user is touching the input device. Thus, the diskdrive would remain inactive until it is determined that the user istouching the input device, which would be an indication that thecomputer system may need to access the disk drive.

In another embodiment of the present invention, a computer systemdetermines if the user is touching a headset that is capable ofconverting a user's speech into an electrical signal. If the systemdetermines that the user is touching the headset, it activates a speechrecognition program so that the speech recognition program processes theelectrical signals produced by the headset. In other embodiments, thesystem only activates the speech recognition program if the user istouching a mouse. In still other embodiments, the user must touch boththe headset and the mouse to activate the speech recognition program. Byonly activating the speech recognition system when an input device istouched, the embodiment of the invention reduces unwanted processing ofspeech that was not directed toward the speech recognition system.

In yet another embodiment of the present invention, a television or anInternet set-top system utilizes a remote control that includes at leastone touch sensor. Such Internet set-top systems provide access to theInternet using a television as a display unit. Some Internet set-topscan also integrate television programs with Internet based information.

FIG. 32 shows one embodiment of a remote control 500 for an Internetset-top system or television system under the present invention. Remotecontrol 500 includes touch sensor 502, that includes a conductive film.In one embodiment of remote control 500, the remote control enters aninactive state when the user is not touching touch sensor 502. In theinactive state, remote control 500 uses less power than in its activestate and thus conserves the power of the batteries in the remotecontrol. In another embodiment of remote control 500, a speechrecognition program is activated when the user contacts touch sensor502.

In further embodiments of the present invention, a computer systemsuppresses processor intensive computer-executable instructions if itdetermines that the user is not touching an input device. Specifically,the invention suppresses instructions that produce images on the displayor that produce audio signals. The reason for suppressing theseinstructions is that the may be wasted since it is likely that the useris not viewing the display if they are not touching an input device. Bysuppressing these processor intensive instructions, the presentinvention increases the execution speed of many applications.

Although the present invention has been described with reference toparticular embodiments, workers skilled in the art will recognize thatchanges may be made in form and detail without departing from the spiritand scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method in a computer system, the methodcomprising: for each of a plurality of touch sensors on a mouse devicecoupled to the computer system, receiving an indication of whether auser is touching a touch sensor; setting a display characteristicassociated with moving a cursor across a display to a first setting ifthe user is touching a first combination of touch sensors while movingthe mouse device and to a second setting if the user is touching asecond combination of touch sensors while moving the mouse device; andgenerating a display that moves the cursor while the user moves themouse device based on the setting of the display characteristic.
 2. Themethod of claim 1 wherein setting the display characteristics comprisessetting the distance a cursor moves across a display based on whichcombination of touch sensors the user is touching.
 3. The method ofclaim 2 wherein setting the distance comprises setting the distance at afirst distance for a movement of the input device if the user istouching the first combination of touch sensors and at a seconddistance, further than the first distance, for the first movement of theinput device if the user is touching the second combination of touchsensors.
 4. The method of claim 1 wherein setting the displaycharacteristics comprises setting the size of an ink trail produced on adisplay.
 5. In a computer system having a mouse device wherein saidmouse device comprises a plurality of touch sensors, a methodcomprising: setting a display characteristic to a first setting if auser is touching a first predetermined combination of non-contiguoustouch sensors on the mouse device while moving the mouse device and to asecond setting if a user is touching a second predetermined combinationof non-contiguous touch sensors on the mouse device while moving themouse device, said display characteristic being associated with moving acursor across a display; and generating a display that moves the cursorwhile the user moves the mouse device based on the setting of thedisplay characteristic.
 6. The method of claim 5 wherein setting thedisplay characteristic comprises setting the distance a cursor movesacross a display based on which combination of touch sensors on themouse device the user is touching.
 7. The method of claim 6 whereinsetting the distance comprises setting the distance at a first distancefor a first movement of the input device if the user is touching thefirst predetermined combination of touch sensors and at a seconddistance, further than the first distance, for the first movement of theinput device if the user is touching the second predeterminedcombination of touch sensors.
 8. The method of claim 5 wherein settingthe display characteristic comprises setting the size of an ink trailproduced on a display.
 9. A method in a computer system, the methodcomprising: for each of a plurality of touch sensors on a pointingdevice coupled to the computer system, receiving an indication ofwhether a user is touching at least one of the touch sensors on saidpointing device; setting a display characteristic associated with movinga cursor across a display to a first setting if the user is touching afirst combination of touch sensors while moving the pointing device andto a second setting if the user is touching a second combination oftouch sensors while moving the pointing device, wherein said firstcombination of touch sensors and said second combination of touchsensors are on said pointing device; and generating a display that movesthe cursor while the user moves the pointing device based on the settingof the display characteristic.
 10. The method of claim 9 wherein settingthe display characteristic comprises setting the distance a cursor movesacross a display based on which combination of touch sensors on themouse device the user is touching.
 11. The method of claim 10 settingthe distance comprises setting the distance at a first distance for afirst movement of the input device if the user is touching the firstpredetermined combination of touch sensors and at a second distance,further than the first distance, for the first movement of the inputdevice if the user is touching the second predetermined combination oftouch sensors.
 12. The method of claim 9 wherein setting the displaycharacteristic comprises setting the size of an ink trail produced on adisplay.